Currently, the technique of tissue puncture for medical purpose is widely employed in clinics, such as anesthesia, analgesia, biopsy, aspiration, and etc. In a case, for example, during the procedure of epidural block in traditional way, it is not avoidable to hit the bony tissue under the blind fashion for needle puncture.
In recent years, the technique of needle puncture guided by ultrasound imaging for nerve block is frequently employed in clinics. Generally, a doctor operates the puncture needle with one or two hands and the other hand or a physician assistant operates the ultrasound probe to derive the image of tissues. It can be imagined that this kind of procedure is not ideal for two-man's or one-man's operation due to possible difficulty of coordination.
The recent ultrasound imaging systems for needle guidance in the market include GE LOGIQ e, Philips HD11 XE, SonoSite MicroMaxx, Zonare Medical Systems zone ultra, and etc. However, the ultrasound probes in those systems are unable to integrate with the puncture needle, or the ultrasound probe and the puncture needle are separate elements, so that the direction of ultrasound beam is not co-axial with the directions of the needle during puncture. In other words, the directions of ultrasound beam and the pathway of needle insertion will be not the same in these systems.